Daryl became Daryl again. THAT is what this episode accomplished. Beth got way more screen time than ever before and she really needed it to shine, and she really did in this episode, as did Daryl.

 

I agree with you.....this episode could have been condensed into half hour if you took out all the booze quest nonsense and just talked about daryl's background and his way of thinking. The other half could have been about another group. Honestly, i kept waiting for someone else (prison folks, random people) to show up from beginning to the very last minute of the episode. And the ending with burning the house down?? They couldn't do it in the morning?! I mean, i understand the symbolic meaning and cathartic experience they felt because it was a way to say F*** you to their past lives but seriously that couldn't wait until morning...after a restful night of sleep? :zombies_confused:

 

I didn't get it either. And what's with the booze obsession this season? I don't even remember anyone wanting it before and now this season Bob and Beth HAVE TO HAVE IT! I mean, it's kinda bizarre, isn't it? And there's nothing revealed tonight about these two characters that I didn't know before this. And I'm still confused, was Beth coming on to Daryl or not? It sure seemed that way. And there was nothing concrete about Daryl tonight that was revealed, it was already assumed he was sort of a druggie redneck bum with Merle, and that his parents were probably trashy, it just didn't seem like anything really was said.

I still don't think Beth is that great a character- it's just this is the first time she has really had a bigger part on the show- she did okay, but Meryl Streep she is not.

 

Here we go with "lazy writing" again.

 

Unfortunately, in a show that carries many scenes on edge-of-your-seat type action, whenever the writers delve into the challenging waters of personal interaction and the human psyche, it gets interpreted by many as "lazy writing".

 

Yeah it didn't achieve much accept that Daryl found out he had a heart after all, and he wasn't just a Tin Man.

I wasn't sure where the booze hunt was going. I suspected maybe that both Beth and Daryl would hit the sack and get frisky, but I soon dismissed that - too distasteful.

It's not just the age gap. They have nothing in common except a will to survive.

 

To explore the turmoil and inner conflict that two characters experience after losing everything they struggled to build over the last 2 seasons. This episode also seemed to resolve their loss somewhat and allow them to move forward.

 

Why would you not like episode 11.

 

Pretty much.

This episode was about building strong characters and exploring background and emotional state. And it accomplished that quite well.

I feel that some parts (most of the golf club scenes) could have been removed and replaced with something else, but the strongest scenes, the scenes where Daryl and Beth were forced to confront themselves and each other, were very strong.

 

This episode accomplish Beth's first "true development", because she'll survive until the end, so they're planning to give Beth more character development until the viewers like her♫

 

Yabbut, surely it could have been condensed to half an hour so that we had half an hour of other characters? I hate to say it but Daryl awesomely kills some freaking zombies is getting a bit repetitive.

 

Agreed. A half hour would have been more then enough.

 

Well said. Call me a sap, but I appreciated the time they took to feature characters whose feelings aren't always transparent.

Would I recommend doing this for everyone? No.

 

They talked about Beth wanting a drink on Talking Dead, and in order not to sink into despair they needed a mission, so Beth wanting the drink provided that mission. Plus it was character development for both of them.

FYI, writing that you don't happen to like is not "lazy". Stop saying that.

 

What the producers understand is that the greatest shows in history are character driven... This was a great episode because it was TWD in it's purist form...survival in the ZA.. It is clear to see now what Gimple is doing.. He cleaned up the messes made by Mazzara during the first half of s4, redeveloping the key characters, and getting us ready for the next big journey.. "Still" was a masterpiece in resetting, and character development.. Not much at all happened to move the story along, just the characters..It had a perfect ending, wide open for anything to happen, except now when the storyline picks up, we are all way more vested in these two characters then ever, and that always makes for a much greater viewing experience... Brilliant.

 

The mission being "Beth needs a drink" felt slightly* out of character to me even in the moment ,it paid off in the end though. I don't think Daryl's past or that he has feeling was a revel but him talking about his feeling was growth and a turning point. I think it was intersting that Michone and Carl had to reconnect with pasts to retain their humanity but the ZA is given Daryl a chance to be himself.

Slightly ... I don't think it was totaly out of character. She had been trying to engage with Daryl about finding the rest of the group for days and failing. Going on a smaller mission and normal for a pre-ZA teen seemed an alright way to go.

 

Exactly. You understand this episode. People need to see past the simple quest for alcohol, and realize that, that journey led to emotional outpour.

 

It could've been condensed. I have to say though that they began to rally the episode a bit toward the end with some of the dialogue that they gave Daryl. But then they completely lost me with the ending, lighting your only shelter on fire and wandering out into the dark drunk during the Zombie Apocalypse. Brilliant.

 

I loved this episode, imo the best one so far in 4B. Before 412 my opinion on Beth was 'meh..beth, dont care about her'..
now i dont want her to die, she grew on me in a single episode. lazy writing my ass, this is writing at its best